Ukraine did not violate intl law by not closing airspace over Donbas – justice minister

11:56, 19.10.2015 1 min read

Ukraine did not violate any international agreements or international law after deciding against closing its airspace over Donbas after the conflict in the region started, Justice Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Petrenko has said.

"If the issue of our positions on some statements presented regarding the [Malaysian Airlines flight MH17] Boeing is raised… Ukraine has fulfilled each and all its international agreements in the aviation law area and our country did not violate any ICAO directives or international law," Petrenko said last week.

He said the accusation that Ukraine allegedly violated international law by leaving its airspace over Donbas open is evidence of interference by Russian experts.

The minister added that Russia is trying to shift responsibility for the MH17 tragedy.

"No one could imagine that Russia could bring this [Buk] missile system [into Donbas], and we understand that no terrorist is able to manage this precision weapon," he said.